


Hidden Gold

by SamiraHeaven93



Series: Hidden Gold AU [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: (A Little Bit of spoilers maybe?), Family, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, but basically just a name...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26065693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamiraHeaven93/pseuds/SamiraHeaven93
Summary: What if Ace one day, when he was nine, decided to visit a certain village and meet a certain pirate?Ace meets Shanks and things don’t go as he expected.
Series: Hidden Gold AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973551
Comments: 38
Kudos: 183





	1. Enter Shanks

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching some Marineford when this idea came to my mind. What if Ace met Shanks? Someone has probably done it before, but here is my take on it!

** Chapter 1: Enter Shanks **

Ace walked in a for him unfamiliar direction, over Mt. Corvo and down to the ocean. He wanted to see the village there and how his stupid gramps’ grandkid lived. He bet the kid was a spoiled little brat with dotting parents and there was he, Ace, the demon child of Gol D. Roger. “Raised” by mountain bandits and occasionally “trained to become a strong marine officer” by Garp.

Tsh! Not that he was jealous or something. He wasn’t even supposed to have been born, so this was more then he deserved after all. Sabo was more then he deserved and Ace, after years of friendship, still wondered why the blond boy stayed with him. Even after he had told him about his stupid father! Sabo must have been dropped a bit to often on his head. Yeah, that was probably the explanation. Sabo just didn’t get it that he was a monster.

Ace stopped in his track, shocked by what he saw. THIS was the village? It looked so different then Grey Terminal, even totally different from Edge or even High Town! There were small houses and windmills. And where those cows? Those were definitely some weird looking cows!

He started walking slowly again. This was not what he had expected. He had planned to get some stuff for their pirate funds, too, but he doubted that he could get much here. Damn it!

The boy strolled further down into the village, maybe he could find some merchants there. They were usually fools and easy to steal from and he doubted someone _HERE_ would put up much of a fight anyway. This place looked like they had absolutely no clue how bad the world really was, tsh.

Then he saw it. A big pirate ship was anchored at the dock. A black flag with crossed swords and a skull wearing a straw hat blowing in the soft breeze that came from the ocean. The salty wind played with his black locks while he started to grin. Pirates! There were pirates! And pirates meant treasure! They couldn’t be strong. No strong crew would put something so silly as a straw hat on their Jolly Roger! That would have been just ridiculous!

Ace sneaked through the little village, wondering were the pirate crew was, he couldn’t see anyone on or around the ship. Ha, this was going to be even easier then he had thought!

He climbed on board and snickered. There really was no one there! Not a single person on guard duty. This was going to be a child’s game. He just hoped it would be worth his time and there actually was a treasure he could steal. The boy wouldn’t be surprised if those pirates wouldn’t have a single berry. He sighed. Maybe he could find some other handy stuff instead. This was a ship, so he could get his hands on some navigation stuff. He bet Sabo would be impressed if he brought him a book or something!

Ace went into the belly of the ship, listening carefully, just in case someone was there after all, but he couldn’t hear anything. He looked in every room he came across and was excited to find the captains quarters after the third one.

And wow, were they messy! Clothes lay around everywhere and there were all kinds of random stuff cluttering shelves and piled in the corners. What kind of captain was that?

The boy searched around for some interesting things he could easily carry away in his pocket and came across a weird looking sea shell sitting on the floor next to the bed. He picked it up and took a closer look at it. There were some weird extra holes in it. Ace shook it, but nothing happened. Then he noticed that the end didn’t feel like the rest of it and he pressed it.

“ _ **BOOM**_!!!”

Ace screamed and threw the weird shell as far away from him as he could.

“What the heck was that?! How can a shell scream at me?!”

“Because that’s not a normal shell.”

The boy froze. Shit! There had been someone on the ship after all! He turned around slowly and came face to face with a man with a long black ponytail, standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing here, kid?”

“Ehhh...” That guy probably wasn’t the smartest or strongest, maybe he could fool him. “I’m the new cabin boy! Captain send me to... Eh... tidy up?”

The man raised an eyebrow and leaned against the doorframe.

“Well... he really needs to tidy up a bit in here, that is true. But you are definitely not a cabin boy.”

“Oh, the captain must have forgotten to tell you!” Shit, that guy wasn’t so dumb after all.

“Oh, I’m sure I would know it anyway, because I’m the First Mate.” He grinned nonchalantly, which made Ace back up a few steps. “Plus we have the iron rule of not taking in children.”

Ace gulped. Well, shit. Shit shit shit! What gonna do?! Maybe a distraction would let him get away? Damn he should have asked Sabo to come with him after all!

“Look a giant flying goldfish!” The boy pointed out of a window for a second before he darted through the door.

At least he tried, until he was lifted up by the back of his shirt. “You didn’t actually think you could fool me with that, right?”

“Let go of me asshole!” Ace tried to get himself free and kicked around, but the man didn’t seem to be bothered by any of it.

“I don’t think so, kid.” He made his way out of the ships belly, still carrying the struggling boy. “You were trying to steal from us. And stealing from pirates isn’t a good idea. I’m gonna take you to our captain and then we see what we will do with you.”

The man threw Ace over his shoulder and didn’t even flinch at the boys attempts at freeing himself.

“Let me go! I didn’t even take anything! And I’m not gonna do it again!” At least he wouldn’t get caught the next time. If he took Sabo with him, then his friend could keep watch.

“Not gonna happen, kid. You brought this to yourself.”

It didn’t take the pirate long to bring Ace into a bar filled with loud voices, laughter and the smell of beer and food.

“Benn!” A cheery voice called while the boy still tried to get free. “What do you have there?”

Ace was plugged from the mans shoulder and unceremoniously placed on a bar stool. He tried to bolt for it again, but before his feet could even touch the ground he was pulled into someone’s lap and strong arms help him tightly in place.

“Gaaaahh! Let me go!” His face went beet red and he tried to get away from the man holding him, when he heard a child laugh. He looked up and saw a younger boy in the stool next to him. “Shut up!”

The man just laughed, bulled him closer and rested his chin on Aces’ head.

“That a friend of you, Luffy?”

The other boy shook his head and swung his legs. “Nope! Never seen him!” He held out his hand and grinned brightly. “Hi! I’m Luffy! Let’s be friends!”

Ace stilled and stared at the hand in shock. He can’t be serious about that right? You don’t just ask people you just met to be your friend!

Wait... Luffy?! That was the old mans grandkid? A marines grandkid?! Sitting in a bar full of pirates?! And being _HAPPY_ about it?!

Ok, the kid was definitely dumb...

“I think you can let go of him now, Boss.” The first mate pulled out a cigarette and leaned against the nearest table, while lighting it. “Oh, and I found him rummaging around on the ship and your cabin.”

“Oh?” The captain raised an eyebrow and gently sat the boy on his feet, who was now staring at the other child, before turning around to look at him.

“Yeah, he tried to fool me by telling me he was our new cabin boy.” Benn blew out some smoke and grinned.

“Dahahaha!” The captain ruffled Aces’ hair, which made the boy stare at him dumbfounded before turning even redder. “You are a cheeky brat. What’s your name, kid?”

“Ace...” Why did he tell that stupid red hair?! It was none of his business! But the question had caught him off guard, so he had just answered out of reflex.

“Ace... Huh...” The pirate stood up and kneeled down in front of him, suddenly looking serious. “I’m Shanks. It’s nice to meet you. How old are you?”

“None of your business!” It’s nice to meet you?! Don’t give him that crap! He was a pirate and if he knew who Ace really was he would want him dead, just like everyone else. And one simple question would proof that.

The man smirked and poked the boys cheek repeatedly, while his eyes stayed serious and focused on the freckled face. “Come one, Ace~. Just answer this one question.”

Ace slapped Shanks Hand away and hissed at him. “I’m nine. And what’s wrong with you?!”

The captain leaned back on his heals and pushed his head slightly back, while his crew erupted into laughter. “You remind me a bit of myself when I was your age, but I wasn’t so pissed.”

“Shut up!” Ace crossed his arms and glared at the idiotic pirate in front of him. “You asked me a stupid question, now I have one for you.”

The red head raised his eyebrows and looked at the boy curiously.

“What do you think of Gol D. Roger?”

(“Shishishi! Ace is stupid! It’s GOLD Roger! Because he was the pirate king and pirates have treasure and treasure is made of gold!”)

Shanks eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head slightly and grinned.

“Roger, huh?” He stood up, took his hat off and set it on the counter. “You could say he was a monster...”

Ha! Ace knew it. This guy wasn’t any different. His hands tightened on his arms.

“But he was also one of the greatest people I know.”

Wait... _what_?!

“He was incredibly strong and if one of his friends got hurt, he was the scariest thing in the world. Dahahaha! But he was also kind and loved by many. And sometimes a bit of an idiot, too.”

Ace stared at the pirate in front of him, his arms falling to his sides. Was he really serious? That couldn’t be true! No one talked about him like that!

“You... don’t hate him?”

“Dahahah! Of course not!”

“Then... if he had a child, what would you do with it?”

Shanks blinked, then he looked to his first mate, who seemed to not have noticed that his cigarette had gone out, and back to the boy in front of him.

The boy who asked about GOL D. Roger!

The boy who asked about a potential child!

The boy with eyes so incredibly similar to his late captains...

The boy who was named just like his captain had wanted to call his son...

The boy who was to young to actually be his captains son... _right_?

“Makino... I’m gonna borrow your back room for a moment. Is that ok?”

The young woman had followed the interaction between the pirate and the child with worry and curiosity. None of the pirates had seemed like really bad people to her, especially not the captain, so it was probably fine. She wondered who the boy was, because she had never seen him before. Was he from over the mountain? No, no child could come this way on their own, not with all the bandits roaming around. “Of course, Captain.”

Shanks grabbed the boy and vanished into the storage room, making sure they were far enough away from the door so that no one would be able to hear them. Not that he didn’t trust his crew, but this was something very private and maybe Ace would actually tell the truth if they weren’t surrounded by people he didn’t know, let alone trust.

The former cabin boy of the Roger Pirates grabbed Ace carefully by his small shoulders and looked at him seriously.

“Ace, why are you asking those questions?”

The boy frowned and looked away, trying to shrug of the mans hands to no avail.

Shanks sighed. That was some kind of answer too, and he didn’t like the implications of it.

“Ok, kiddo, you want to know what I would do with Rogers child? I’ll show you.”

He scooped the shocked boy up and hugged him tightly.

“I would hug him and tell him that he was a great child. That I am so glad that he was ok.” Shit, he didn’t mean his voice to break at the end. Ah fuck it! Tears were ok too! “I would spoil him and tease him and tell him silly stories about his Dad.”

Ace struggled in his arms and managed to get away from him.

“ _Why_?!” The boys voice was high and Shanks could hear it break a little bit at the edges too. “ _Why... why are you saying all that?!_ ”

The pirates heart started to ache seeing him like that. He reached out to Ace, his eyes soft and still glistening with tears.

“Because I knew your father. I know how he really was...”

Ace made a strangled noise and bolted for the back door. This time no one held him back.

That must have been a shock for the child and Shanks didn’t like it at all! Where and how was the child growing up? Who was surrounding him, that he was shocked to hear that? Wasn’t there anyone who was telling him true stories about his father? Not even his mother?


	2. Conflicting feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shanks goes to look for Ace and finds the out some new things that make him worry. Ace doesn’t know what he is feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was finished faster then I had hoped!
> 
> And THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH for all the feedback! I’m absolutely flabbergasted! The numbers of hit and kudos! I never expected this story to be so popular! And I even got comments! That all was a HUGE boost for my motivation (and self esteem about my writing.)

** Conflicted feelings **

It was the morning after Ace had stormed off on him and Shanks had hoped the kid would come back, but when he didn’t he had asked Makino if she knew where he lived. She, just like Luffy, had never seen him before, which meant that he wasn’t from Foosha Village. He knew that there was a town on the other side of Mt. Corvo, but it would be risky for him to go there, there was a bounty in his head after all and he didn’t want to leave this island for good just now. It was nice and the village people weren’t scared, at least not a lot. And Makino had good booze.

Maybe Ace lived somewhere in the mountains? That would make sense considering that he was probably hidden away by someone on this island. Shanks had heard what had happened on Baterilla. Woman and children were hunted just by the vague hint of them being related to Roger. It had been _horrible_.

Finding Ace here in the East Blue was incredible. Him being alive and safe was a miracle on its own! But how was it possible for him to be only nine? Considering when Roger had been “captured” he should at least be ten! Maybe his mother could answer that question? But Shanks wasn’t so sure if he really wanted to know a detailed answer to that.

And yeah, then there was the question of his mother! Who was she? And why didn’t she make sure her son knew how his father really was? Ace had seemed so angry and shocked! Shocked by the mere affection of a hug and someone not hating him or his father! Something was very very wrong here.

The pirate walked out of the village and into the surrounding woods. The trees were old and outside of the small path hard to get through for a normal person. A jungle by East Blue standards, but definitely not in comparison to some he had seen on the Grand Line. He heard the roar of an animal, maybe a lion or tiger, but louder. Maybe this forest was a bit more dangerous then he originally had thought. Not that it mattered, he went to the Grand Line when he was a child, a beast from the most peaceful sea didn’t mean any danger to him. He could scare them away with just a look.

Shanks looked out in the hope of spotting a shock of black hair, but to no avail. It took him a while to spot anything that could lead him to Ace. A wooden building, hidden in the woods, it looked like he would imagine the hideout of a bandit to look like. But would Ace be living with bandits? A child raised by _bandits_?

A white dog was roaming around and started to bark at him when the pirate approached the house. He crouched down in front of him and petted him, not scared of being bitten.

“Yes, you are a good doggie! I suppose you can’t tell me where Ace is, huh?”

“Who the heck are you?! And what are you doing here?”

The gruff voice made Shanks look up and meet a broad woman with curly orange hair and a cigarette in the corner of her mouth.

“Hallo!” He stood up and brushed of his pants. “I’m Shanks. I’m looking for a boy. Around this big. Black hair and freckles. His name is Ace.”

Dadan stared at the stranger in front of her. “What did the little devil do this time?”

He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. “Nothing. I just want to talk. You know where I can find him?”

“No, no clue where the brat is. He runs around everywhere and causes trouble for everyone. He is infamous around here. And why the heck should I know where he is to begin with?”

What did that guy want from Ace? She had never seen him before! She just hoped the little troublemaker would stay inside until he was gone again. Who knew if that guy wasn’t a marine or someone who came to kill him or take him away to prison. Dadan didn’t volunteer to take care of the brat when Garp had brought him, but letting him be taken away by a random guy would mean a lot of trouble with _**HIM**_ and she definitely didn’t want to deal with that.

Plus, she might have grown fond of the kid. And care about him. Just a little bit! And not that she would ever admit that to anyone!

“I see. If you see him, tell him I wanna talk to him. We will sail off tomorrow morning, but only for a week, then we will be back. I understand that he probably has a lot to think about right now. I would really like to talk to him!” He turned around and tipped his hat as a farewell. “But if you don’t know where he is that can’t be helped then. See ya, Old Lady!”

Shanks walked back to Foosha, sighing. That had not went as he had hoped. He had noticed a small part of a child’s foot in the doorway of that place. That had to be Ace, even though that woman had said she didn’t know where he was. But she had obviously known the kid. So was she the one raising him? Was she his mother?!

The young man shuddered. No, that couldn’t be right? He couldn’t see his captain being together with her! Maybe as drinking buddies, but definitely not like that!

But then who was she? She had been hiding Ace from him and he hoped it was because she wanted to protect him, but he couldn’t be sure about that.

Not with the way she had talked about him. Now Aces’ behaviour made some more sense. Sadly. Shanks doubted the kid was getting a lot of affection from her. He probably didn’t even know how it was if someone really cared for him. And that was so so wrong!

The son of the man who love him and Buggy like his own didn’t even know how it felt to be loved himself...

Shanks wanted to scream!

He wanted to punch someone! The one who was responsible for Ace growing up at a place like this!

He wanted to show Ace what love was!

But what he really wanted right now was to run back and give the kid a big hug and never let him go!

Or a drink. He definitely wanted, no he needed, a drink right now! Because running back wouldn’t make it any better. He couldn’t force Ace to do anything after all.

“SHANKS!!!!”

And he was not going to get a drink in peace, but messing around with Luffy would be a good distraction too.

The child ran into his legs and hugged him.

“Hey, Anchor! What’s the matter?”

Luffy looked up at him and pouted. “Benn is a meany!”

Shanks snickered and lifted the little boy up and on his shoulders. “What did he do?”

“I told him I wanna be a pirate and he told me no!”

“Dahahaha! You want to be a pirate? Sounds good to me!”

“It is! Shishishi! So you are gonna take me with you!”

The captain frowned and sighed. “Nope, that’s not going to happen, kiddo.”

Luffy leaned around the mans head and whined. “But why?”

“Because you are waaaaay to young and weak to be a pirate. And you can’t even swim, Anchor!” The pirate stuck out his tongue and poked the child’s forehead.

“But Shanks~! I AM strong! I could even beat those stupid monkeys grandpa made me fight!”

_ What?! _

Shanks stopped abruptly and lifted the child from his shoulders. “Your grandpa made you fight monkeys?! _Why_?!”

Fuck! Was this whole island full of people who didn’t know the slightest bit about rising children? Other then Makino, the young woman seemed to do a good job with Luffy as far as he could tell. Not that Shanks knew a lot about it himself, he basically grew up on a pirate ship. It had been the best option for him at the time, but he would never EVER take a child on his ship if there was any other choice. A pirate ship was no place for a child. The life of a pirate wasn’t all fun after all, it was dangerous. And captain hadn’t been the best guardian either. He took children to WAR after all! But he had cared for them and loved them! Roger would have gotten furious if any of them would have gotten seriously injured, too. Which had been the reason why Shanks had pulled down his head as far as he could while he had watched the execution. He had been hiding his new scars. He had wanted his captain to not worry about him in his final moments and he probably would have, if he had seen the three scars he had gotten from that weird kid on Whitebeards crew. Their crews last meeting had been very different and not just because he had been seriously injured... but that was something Shanks didn’t want to think about right now. There was enough going on in his head without his thoughts drifting back to that time...

“Grandpa calls it training. He wants me to become a marine.” Luffy made a disgusted face and the young man just stared at him.

Luffys grandfather wanted him to become a marine? Oh... he got a bad feeling about that. He could almost hear the booming laugh that was so similar to his late captains. Oh no... Davy Jones... please...

“Luffy, what’s your grandpas name?” Please let me be wrong!

“Garp!”

And there goes his last hope! _SHIT_!

“Aiaiaiai!” He buried his hands in his red hair, knocking his hat of his head. “You got to be kidding me?!”

Luffy was Garps grandson! He could only pray they would never run into the old man. That was something he didn’t intend to do, like at all. Ever. He had seen the hero of the marines fight so many times and... nope... he doesn’t want to be at the receiving end of one of those canon balls again! And he definitely didn’t wanted his crew to deal with it either. At least not now and not for a very VERY long time!

It must have been Garp too, who brought Ace here! And of course the crazy old man would leave the son of his rival to be raised by bandits! Captain, what the fuck did you think would happen?! GARP!? And why did Ace’ mother let him do that?!

Shanks got an even worse feeling about that now. Roger wouldn’t have been with a weak minded woman. She also had to be strong and clever to manage to hide Ace from the prosecution, too. But where was she? Her not being here to raise her son herself wasn’t a good sign. Especially not with the marines somehow involved. No, Not at all...

***

Ace stomped out of the cabin as soon as he was sure the weird red headed pirate was gone. Why even did he came here? To talk to him, my ass! As if anyone would just come all this way just to talk to someone like him! He had said he had known his stupid father, so he might just want to get rid of him here. He might have had acted friendly and weird back at that bar, but that was probably just to not scare that lady at the bar. Tsh, as if anyone would actually want to hug him! He was a devils child after all and everyone hated him. Maybe besides Sabo. Maybe.

Before he could get far, the boy was held back by Dadan. What was it with people stopping him all the time right now?!

“What did you do this time, Ace? Who was that?”

He easily freed himself from her grip and glared at her. “The hell I know who that guy really is! It’s none of you business!”

She stood there with her hands at her hips and glared back at him. “It is my business if some random guy comes to my hideout to find you, brat! Do you want to get caught?!”

“Tsh! And what if? You do only care about that because it could get you in trouble with Garp! It’s not like you even want me to be here after all!” Ace turned around and stormed off into the forest without looking back.

Dadan tried to follow him, but he was to fast. Damn that Garp! Why did he have to bring the kid here of all places?! She wasn’t good with kids! She had never wanted any of her own, let alone take care of fucking Gold Rogers son! She knew she was really bad at it, too! And, damn it, she had gotten attached to the little brat! What could she do to actually protect him if some other navy people appeared? Nothing! She would be dead the second she tried to step in their way! Same for people who could go face to face with the freaking pirate king!

But she would still do it. She cared for him, even if he was a little devil and she couldn’t handle him!

It had been all over the first time he had babbled her name while playing with her pearl necklace. She missed the days when he had been happy to just play with it for hours. Those had been easier times.

A lot had changed after Garp had told him who his parents had been.

***

Ace ran through the forest, not thinking about where he was going or even paying much attention to his surroundings. His body moved on his own. He had taken this path countless times, it was all muscle memory by now.

To the Grey Terminal. To Sabo. Just away from Dadan, who wouldn’t even care if he would never come back. Away from that weird pirate guy who acted like no one around him ever had, at least not that he remembered...

It was all so weird! He wanted his normal back! And just roaming around and stealing money was his normal.

The trash heap that was the Grey Terminal was just like always. Dirty, smelly and full of people with no other place to go. It was normal! And that was nice.

“Yo, Ace!” A boy with a top hat jumped down from a hill made out of broken wood and metal.

“Sabo! Got any treasure?”

The blond kid shook his head and frowned. “Not today. Where were you yesterday, Ace? Did your grandpa come again?”

“No!” He didn’t wanted to talk about it. He just wanted to spend his day as usual and not think about the weirdness that had been yesterday.

Sabo grabbed Ace’ shoulder and made him look at him. “Ace, are you Ok? You are acting different then usual...”

“I’m fine!”

The other child raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. “No, you are not. You know you can talk to me. We are friends after all!”

Ace turned away and crossed his arms. “I still don’t get how you want to be my friend. I’m a monster!”

“Ace...” So it was because of this again, huh? Sabo looked at him sadly. He knew that his friend was thinking like that and that there were some days were it was worse then usual. Like today. “What happened yesterday?”

“Nothing...”

The younger boy took Aces hand and pulled him back into the forest. His friend was struggling against his grip, but he didn’t let go. He sat him down at the roots of a large tree and glared down at him.

“I don’t by your “nothing”, Ace. Tell me what happened!”

The black haired boy frowned up at him. Why must his friend be so persistent and noisy? It’s not like he was acting any different around him, so why did he even ask? He knew Sabo wouldn’t let go of it, just like when he managed to make him speak about his biological father.

“I went into the village on the other side of Mt. Corvo...”

“Huh?” The blond child hadn’t expected that.

“Yeah... I was just... curious...” Ace crossed his arms again and avoided looking at him. He didn’t have to tell him everything, right? “There was a pirate ship there and I thought they would have treasure or, ya know, important pirate stuff, so I went to check it out. But I got caught...”

Sabos eyes widened and he grabbed his friend by his shoulders, looking him over for injuries. “What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?”

Ace shrugged him of and tuck up his legs, while hugging them and burying his face into his knees. “The captain... he knew my father and recognised me... and told me what he wanted to do with me...”

The other boy paled and froze for a second before grabbing Ace’ shoulders again and shaking him. “Ace! Ace! Look at me! What did he do?!”

The freckled child looked up and Sabo could see his eyes glistening. He wasn’t crying, but clearly upset. Which wasn’t unusual when it came to his father, but there was something else that irritated him. Normally Ace would get angry and violent... and not tear-y eyed, not even a little bit. What was going on?!

Ace’ eyes focused on a speck of light on a tree behind his friends head. “I... I just don’t get it...” He worried at his lip, which was something Sabo had never seen him do before. At least not like that. “Sabo... He... he hugged me. And told me that he was glad that I was ok... I... Sabo... why did he do that? No one ever said that to me...”

The blond boy let himself fall to the ground next to his friend, shocked. And glad. That was not what he had feared and definitely not what he had expected. He had known Ace didn’t really know how positive affection and love worked. Had probably never seen it before either, not like him, who at least had known it from afar.

Sabo moved without thinking and hugged Ace tightly.

“But isn’t that great?! That guy seems to care about you! Is he still there? Let’s go talk to him!”

“No!” The older boy fought against the unfamiliar gesture. “Let go of me! Sabo! Let go!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter too! There will be more, hopefully soon! But I don’t make any promises as to when.


	3. Starting over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shanks and Ace meet again after some help from Sabo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this chapter took me longer then the last, but I didn’t have much time to write...
> 
> Thank you all SO SO SO MUCH for the responses! I can’t believe it! I hope you keep enjoy this chapter too.

It had been over a week since Ace had told Sabo about what had happened to him in the village and the blond boy kept pestering his friend to go back. Which the freckled child didn’t like very much. At all.

Sabo rubbed the back of his head, still able to feel the light bump that Ace’ weapon had left there, and sighed.

He was happy that there seemed to finally be someone who actually cared about his friend and was willing to show him love. Something he himself would be ecstatic to have. All he had ever known was the pressure his parents had put on him. All they had ever done was care about their reputation and how to get even more influence. He had come to hate it. So much that he had run away. He was way happier now. He was free!

Well at least as free as a nine year old could be. The people at Grey Terminal were mostly really nice and the ones that weren’t were the once he had just robbed usually. And he had a friend! A real friend!

Sabo felt bad about lying to Ace about his heritage, but he was afraid of his friends reaction. About his reaction that he had lied to him and not about him not being an orphan. A lie would be a huge issue for Ace, who wasn’t a very trusting person to begin with. And him finding out that Sabo had lied to him would only worsen his trust issues.

He would never go back to his family, so there was no need to ever tell Ace about his parents after all. Sabo would go out to sea when he turned 17 and until then he would only go into town to steal and trade.

The blond boy was walking alone through the forest, seemingly without a specific destination in mind. Ace had stormed off on him yesterday and he assumed his friend was sitting at the cliff thinking or sulking.

Or his grandpa was back... But he hoped it was the former. The marine being there would cause some problems for what he had planned.

The trees around him thinned out and soon he was walking on a small path next to some fenced fields. Wow, those were some weird cows! He had never really seen ones, only in books, but he had always thought they looked less... derpy.

He could see small houses a bit away and windmills. It almost looked like out of a fairytale. A nice peaceful on, with talking animals and where the biggest problems were like the wheel of a cart breaking or not having enough strawberries to make a cake with.

It had been so long that he had read something like that. That he had been allowed to read something like that. Sometimes he wished he was a small child again, with a nanny to tell him stories...

That nanny had been fired when he turned four...

After that he was forced to study every day for almost all day... until he ran away.

Until he became free.

Sabo stepped on one of the fences, attracting a curious cow, and laughed in delight while petting it. He could barely believe that this was still Goa Kingdom!

He jumped back down to the path and continued his way into the village. The boy became increasingly more careful the closer he got to the harbour after getting a glance at the ship anchoring there.

Good! They were there! But how could Ace have ever thought it was a good idea to sneak onto it and steal from pirates? Sometimes he wondered if his friend even had a sense of self preservation. Considering he had seen him refuse to run away from a huge bear, which they were only able to defeat together, probably not...

Sabo looked around curiously, searching for a hint as to where he could find that pirate captain Ace had told him about. Was he on the ship? Or maybe in the bar? Or...

“Yo! Who are you?”

A black haired boy with a huge grin appeared in front of him and Sabo could just stare at him dumbfounded. Was that the grandkid of Ace’ grandpa?

“I’m Sabo and who are you?”

“Shishishi! I’m Luffy! Let’s be friends!”

The older boy sweat dropped. Yeah, that was definitely the idiot kid Ace had met.

“It’s nice to meet you Luffy. Maybe you can help me with something?”

The younger child nodded eagerly. “Sure!”

“I’m searching for the pirate captain that stays here. Can you tell me where he is?”

“Oh!” He bounced around excitedly and his grin got even bigger. “Shanks! He is in Makinos bar! Come on, I’ll show you!” Luffy grabbed Sabos hand and dragged him around a corner and closer to the harbour. “Shanks is my friend, ya know! But he can be a big meanie too! I asked him to take me with him, but he keeps saying no! I want to become a pirate!”

It didn’t take them long to reach the bar and Luffy walked in without a second thought.

“Shanks!” He let go of Sabos Hand and sprinted to the counter.

“Hi, Anchor! Do you want a juice?” 

“Yay! Juice!!”

The red head grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and sat him on the stool next to him, before his gaze wandered to the second child, who was now standing in front of him.

“I see you brought a friend today, Luffy?”

“Yeah!” He swung his legs and smiled brightly. “That’s my new friend Sabo! Oh yeah! Sabo that’s Shanks! He was looking for you!”

The pirate leaned back against the counter, while Makino placed a glass in front of Luffy, and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? What do you want from me, kid?”

The child in front of him pulled off his top hat and spun it around in his hands for a moment. What kind of kid wears a thing like that?

“I’m Sabo. I’m a friend of Ace...”

Shanks expression turned serious and he leaned forward again. So Ace had friends? He was so glad to hear that!

“And I want you to go and talk with him again! Ace is a stubborn idiot, but... he needs someone like you to talk to!”

“Oh?” That was not what he had expected to hear from the blond boy. “So he told you about me?”

Sabo nodded, looking him directly in the eyes. “Yeah. I also know who his father was and that you knew him. Ace hates him. All he had ever heard about him were horrible things about his father and they extended to himself. Ace deserves to hear something else! He is my best friend!”

Shanks smiled at the nervous boy and placed a hand on his head. “You seem to care about him a lot. I’m glad he has someone like you.” He stood up, took his hat from the counter and placed it on his head. “I had wanted to give him space and let him come to me, but I guess that’s not gonna happen, huh?”

Sabo sat his hat back on his head too and shook his head. “No. I think Ace is curious and wants to talk with you, but he is way to stubborn to admit that to himself.”

The captain sighed theatrically. “He really seems like a stubborn idiot...”

“Mwahaha! Sounds like you two would get along great, captain!”, a man with a headband interject.

“Shut up, Yasopp! Why don’t you go and entertain Luffy while I’m gone?”

“But captain!”

A sharp look from his superior made him pout in resignation. “Fine. Come on, kiddo! I’ll show you how good of a marksman old Yasopp here is!”

“Yay!” The boy ran to him and took his hand before they left the bar.

“Sabo, can you tell me where I can find Ace?”

“He didn’t come to Grey Terminal today, so he is probably at the cliff north-east of here. I can show you the way.”

Shanks smiled and nodded to the boy. “Thank you.”

***

It didn’t take them long to make their way through the forest and soon Sabo stopped and pointed to a gap between some trees where they could see the open sky and some glistening where the ocean vanished at the horizon.

“That’s where he is?”

The boy nodded and crossed his arms. “Yeah. He always comes here to think or when something happened.”

“Thank you again for coming to me and showing me where I can find Ace.”

Shanks left him standing and walked the rest of the way to the shore. He could hear the waves crushing even from where they had halted and he wondered if this noise was as much comfort to Ace as it was for him.

There was the freckled boy, sitting on a bump in the ground, watching the sea. The pirate made no effort to hide his presence to him, he didn’t want to scare him away again. Not that he thought the child would run for it because he just appeared out of nowhere next to him, but he would rather not be smacked by the pipe that lay next to him.

The young man didn’t say anything and just walked to the edge to sit down, one of his legs dangling down. He could feel Ace’ glare on his back and turned around slightly.

“Hm?”

“What do you want?”

Shanks now fully faced him and placed his hat on an other bump in the ground. “I wanted to talk to you.” He rubbed his neck and smiled at the child. “I’m a bit of an idiot and sometimes I’m acting before thinking. Or before thinking long enough... soooo... want to try this first meeting thing again?” He extended his arm and leaned closer to Ace. “Hi, I’m Shanks. Nice to meet you.”

The boy huffed, crossed his arms in front of him and glared at him. “That’s stupid.” He turned away and added more quietly: “You can’t really be happy to meet me...”

The pirates eyes saddened and he pulled up his other foot to now sit cross legged, his hands resting in his lap.

“I am. And I’m really glad that you are alive.”

Ace frowned and looked back at the pirate. “You said you know Roger?”

“Yes, I do. I used to be a cabin boy on his ship.” Shanks raised his right hand to silence the child who was about to protest. “But that has nothing to do with that. Yes, you are my late captains child, but for you, all that means is hurt and suffering. It took me to long to realise that and I’m very sorry about that. You don’t know him and I can understand your distaste for him. Of course I would prefer it, if you would love him like a father, but I’m not here to force my opinion on you.”

“Then what are you here for then?!” The boy sprang to his feet and glared at him.

“Because I wanted to get to know you. I can tell that you are a bit of a troublemaker, but that you are a good kid too.” Shanks shifted so that he was now kneeling in front of Ace. “But most of all I want to show you something everyone should have. That I care about you and that I love you. Yes, this started with me finding out who your father was, but I would even do it if it wasn’t Roger. You deserve love, Ace. I’m sorry for just seeing you as Rogers child the first time we met. You are you. You are Ace and not just the child of the Pirate King.”

The freckled boy crossed his arms again, gripping so hard that his nails dug into his skin and his knuckles turned white, all while worrying at his lower lip.

“No one ever loved me, why would you do it?”

Shanks expression turned even sadder and he would have loved to just pull Ace into a hug and reassure him, that he did. And that there were other people who did it too. But he feared that would only drive the child farther away and close up again.

“I’m sure your mother loves you...”

“ _NO_! I killed her! How could she love me?!”

_Oh no._.. he had feared that his mother was dead, but the implication of this statement made it so much more tragic then he had expected. Ace had never gotten the chance to meet his mother and he blamed himself for her death.

Shanks stood up and placed one of his hand on Ace’ shoulder loosely, he wanted the boy to know that he could move away any time and asked softly: “What happened?”

Ace stiffened and looked up at him with eyes that shouldn’t look so deep and old at his age.

“Why...”

“Tell me what happened, Ace, please.”

The boy was silent for so long, that the young man started to think that he wouldn’t get an answer, when Ace started to talk. His voice was quite and rough and he was looking out to sea again.

“My mother carried me for twenty months and died after giving birth to me. She would be still alive, if I hadn’t killed her...”

Shanks’ grip tightened slightly which made Ace look up at him, his eyes now full of all kinds of emotions.

“Ace. You didn’t kill her. She protected you and sacrificed herself for you.” He place his other hand on the boys free shoulder and turned him to fully face him. “No one does something like that if they hate someone. Your mother loved you so much, that she gave up everything for you to be save and born.”

“Shanks...” His voice was shaking. His whole body was shaking. “Do you... do you really think she loved me? Even after...”

The young man smiled down at him and nodded. “Yes. I’m absolutely sure of it!”

Ace made a strangled noise and looked down, his hands clenched into tight fists and was still shaking.

And Shanks just couldn’t stand there and do nothing, not with the boy being so distressed. He pulled him into a gentle hug, slowly petting the child’s head.

“You know it’s ok to cry. It doesn’t make you weak, not at all. Boys are allowed to cry and mourn too. To cry for someone you love, even though you have never met her. Let it out.”

Shanks scooped Ace up as soon as he heard the first strangled sob and the fact that the boy didn’t even struggle, but instead buried his face into his neck and started to fully cry, told him so much more then anything the child would admit. He held him close and rubbed his back gently, whispering comforting words.

“Your Mum loves you. That blond friend of yours loves you. That bandit woman and Garp love you. I love you! I know it’s a lot to take in. Cry. Let it out. I’m here...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be at least three more chapters to this story (and a little sequel), but again, I can’t promise when the next chapter will be up. I hope I won’t take so long again...


	4. Happy Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace meets an other pirate and learns something new. And just Shanks being Shanks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit faster this time again!  
> Thank you all again SO MUCH! I keep being absolutely baffled by the reactions I get! All the comments and kudos and bookmarks and subscriptions! I would have never thought this would get so much attention. Thank you again so so SO MUCH!

For the last few months Foosha Village had had some strange regular visitors. The first was a pirate crew, which was a rare sight in this remote region of the East Blue. The villagers had been worried at first, but had soon discovered that the men didn’t mean them any harm. They just wanted to party and have a good time with drinks and laughter.

A bit later the other visits had started. Two young boys came down from the mountain and, just like Luffy, they spent their time with the Redhead Pirates. The villagers had heard those two were big troublemakers on the other side of the mountain, but they never caused trouble here. One of them was nice and polite, the other acted sometimes a bit like a feral animal, but was a good child too, as far as the villagers could tell.

None of the visitors worried them so no one felt the need to tell Garp about them. It was a bit of a weird situation, but everyone was happy and no one harmed. And that’s all that mattered.

It was a nice early spring day when Ace and Sabo ran down the now familiar way to Foosha. Shanks was supposed to return a few days earlier and both of them were excited to see the pirates again.

The blond boy loved hearing them tell stories about their adventures and he saw his friend slowly change over the time they spent with Shanks and his men. And Luffy.

Ace felt loved and cared about for the first time since he could remember. His lineage didn’t matter as much to him now, he was seen as Ace and not just the son of the pirate king. Most of the pirates knew who he was,but they had all made sure that he knew that it didn’t matter. Your blood didn’t matter to them, only who you were.

This was something that made Sabo incredibly happy. It helped the other boy overcome the shadows that were haunting him ever since Garp had told him about his father and it showed him, that it didn’t matter that he was born a nobel either. They both could leave their family behind and live their lives without being overshadowed by the blood that ran in their veins.

There was only one thing that Ace didn’t want to leave behind. His mother. Shanks had told him that she had loved him and he slowly, very slowly, came to fully believe him. She didn’t hate him, she never would have hated him! This meant so much to the freckled boy! And he wished he had been able to meet her.

Garp had only told him that she had been from the island of Baterilla in the South Blue and that he himself had been born there, too. Her name had been Portgas D. Rouge and she had died protect him.

That was all he knew about her.

He wanted to know more! But not even Shanks could tell him much, he had only seen her a few times from afar. All he was able to tell Ace, was that Rouge had been pretty... probably. That “probably” had made the boy kick the pirate hard and declare that his mother must have been the most beautiful woman in the world, before blushing a deep red and running of, not to return until the pirates had come back from their next voyage.

And now the Red Force was back and the kids couldn’t wait to spent some time with them again. Shanks had warned them that they couldn’t stay forever in Foosha and that they would leave for good at some point in this year. At first this had made Ace angry. He had just met someone who truly cared for him and showed him a side of love he had never even imagined, let alone experience, and now Shanks said he would be gone soon? Then he had realised that it was only natural that they would leave at some point. They were pirates after all! They belonged on the sea! And of course they wanted to sail the Grand Line too, every pirate dreamed of that. Why should Shanks, who had been on the pirate kings ship, who had experienced that freedom and adventures before, be any different?

This had made Ace sad, but he was sure he was going to meet him again. He wanted to become a pirate and make his name known across the oceans himself. It would take years, but he would meet them again, he knew it!

The two boys ran into the village and stopped near Makinos bar. Something was off today. There were a few villagers, but they couldn’t see any pirates around, even though their ship was back, they had seen it from afar.

And Luffy wasn’t there either! Usually the younger boy would appear next to them as soon as they reached the first houses.

Shanks looked around the corner of a house and grinned when he spotted his target. Next to him stood Benn and shock his head, but was still chuckling. His captain was an idiot, but he wouldn’t want it any different. And next to the first mate was Yasopp, struggling to hold back an overexcited Luffy while trying not to laugh. This was going to be fun, but their captain would probably have to suffer some consequences later.

Damn it! Sabo had spotted him!

The redhead held a finger to his lips, hoping the blond boy wouldn’t rat him out, and sneaked up behind Ace, before grabbing him and tickling him. Hearing the child yelp and then laugh uncontrollably was music to his ears!

“Got ya!”

“AHAHAHAHA! Shanks...! You.... HAHAHAHA... you bastard!” The freckled boy tried to get away from him, but the pirates grip was to strong. “Ahahaha! Stop...stop it!”

“Dahahaha! Nope! Not gonna happen, Freckles! You have such a nice laugh, everyone should hear it!”

“Ahahaha... stupid...hahaha... ** _IDIOT_**!” Ace, blushing, had finally managed to get out of the mans arms while his friend just stood there and laughed at him. “Shut up Sabo!”

Shanks wanted to pull the boy back into his arms, but Ace pushed him away and he let himself fall on his ass. “Dahahaha! Come on kid, I know you like it when I do that!”

That was true, but the child would never admit that to anyone!

“I see you haven’t changed much since the last time I saw you, Shanks.”

No one had noticed the stranger with a backpack coming up to them from the small harbour. His long, red-ish brown hair was mostly pulled into a ponytail, only two strands and bangs were framing a good looking, but still nondescript face. His blue eyes glistened while he smiled down at the younger man, before offering him a hand.

The redhead stared up at him for a moment before taking his it and grinning brightly.

“Spencer!”

The older pirate smirked and pulled him up, before mustering him. “You’ve grown into a fine man.”

Shanks dusted off his pants before pulling the other man into a hug. “It’s good to see you! What are you doing here?”

Spencer shrugged and put his hands into the pockets of his pants after Shanks had let go of him. “Just travelling around. A certain lighthouse keeper told me you were in the East Blue some time ago and I was just drifting by in my small boat, when I spotted a very familiar looking Jolly Roger. So I decided to stop by and take a look at what has become of our former apprentice.”

Meanwhile Yasopp had let Luffy down who had run up to the two older boys and tackled them into a hug, while still laughing in delight. Ace pouted and pushed the younger child into his blond friends arms, making them both stumble to the ground and bursting into laughter again.

The older pirate chuckled at the three children, then he turned back to Shanks. “Are those your apprentices? The little one with the bandaid under his eye seems a bit young.”

The captains face turned serious and he shook his head. “No. I’m not taking in any children. Don’t get me wrong I loved my time under the captain with you and everyone else, but the life of a pirate is hard and dangerous. No child should have to live like that if there is an other possibility. Buggy and me had no future and would probably have died if not for the captain taking us in, but those three have a... decent enough life here.”

“I see. You matured quite a bit. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have taken you with us all the time. At least not to Edd War...”

Shanks threw an arm over his shoulder and nudged him. “Come on, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t blame you or anyone else! It’s long in the past and we all survived after all.” He turned his head to his crew, which had slowly gathered around them. “My men! This is my old friend Spencer! You know what that means?!”

The whole crew erupted into cheers and confirming cries.

“Dahahaha! Its party time!”

Spencer flinched and groaned. “Really Shanks?”

“Dahaha. I can’t let an opportunity like that slip. But don’t worry, you don’t have to participate in anything. You can just sit there and enjoy the show, like you used to when we were still sailing together. I’m gonna make sure no one is gonna bother you and you can leave whenever you want.”

The older man sighed. “Fine...”

“Yay food!” Luffy dragged his two friends into Makinos bar, where he climbed onto his favourite stool while the other boys sat down next to him, facing the room. The pirates filled in around them, already asking for beer and food themselves.

Ace glared at the stranger who sat next to Shanks. This must be one of _his_ men. He frowned. He didn’t look like a monster to him, but looks could be deceive after all. Everyone said his crew was full of monsters. Shanks wasn’t one, he was nice, but he had only been an apprentice after all.

“Ne ne, Mister?” The youngest boy swung his feet back and forth and grinned. “How do you know Shanks?”

Spencer smiled at him and took his beer mug from the young woman behind the bar. “I used to sail on the same ship as him, back when he was just an apprentice.”

“Shishishi! So you know Aces Dad too! He was the captain, you know, but Ace doesn’t like talking about him so we don’t mention that...” The freckled boy next to him smacked him and growled. “Shishishi... whoopsy!”

The older pirate stared at the children in front of him, his mug halfway risen but forgotten. His gaze flickered to the redhead next to him who had rested his head on his hand, while leaning on his elbow.

“You are kidding me...”

Shanks smiled sadly. “No, it’s true. And Ace has good reasons to not like the captain.”

“I can imagine.” Oh, he really could imagine that. He knew what people told about Roger. If the kid grew up surrounded by people spewing this nonsense then he wasn’t surprised he didn’t like his father. But... “Where is your mother?”

The freckled boy stiffened, his lips pressed together into a thin line and his hands balled into fists. And that was answer enough for Spencer.

“So Rouge is gone. I’m sorry. I should have known.”

Ace perked up at that and sprang from his stool. “You know my Mum?”

“Not that good, but yes I do.”

The blond boy slipped from his chair and nudged his friend while grinning at the older pirate. “Tell him about her!”

The oldest boy blushed and glared at Sabo.

“What? You do wanna know more about her and he knows her!”

Shanks snickered and stood up. He placed a hand on Ace’ black hair and ruffled them fondly which made the child pout up at him. “I think that is a good idea. Do you mind telling him a bit about his mother, Spencer?”

“Of course not.” He pulled a chair next to his and motioned for the boy to sit down, which he reluctantly did. “I see a lot of Rouge in your face. Do you know how she looks?”

Ace stared at him with big eyes and shook his head. That was not what he had expected. He was sure he would hate this man just like he hated Roger. But he seemed nice like Shanks. And he knew his mother!

Spencer opened his backpack and pulled out a sketchbook that was held together by a string and stuffed full of loose pieces of paper. He opened it and flipped through it until he found what he was searching. He offered the piece of paper to the boy who took it with slightly shaking hands.

“This is Portgas D. Rouge. You definitely take after her, just the colours are off.”

Ace stared at the picture. It was hand drawn and coloured and showed a beautiful woman. Her hair was long and wavy and she wore a hibiscus flower behind her ear. She had freckles, just like he did. Her smile was warm and, unbeknownst to him, he wore the exact same one right at this moment.

He bit down on his lower lip and tried to suppress a sniffle. No. He wouldn’t cry. Not about seeing his mother for the very first time. Not here in front of everyone.

He wanted to give it back to the pirate, but Spencer just shook his head. “You can keep it.”

“Really?” The child’s lower lip wobbled for a moment when the man nodded before Ace pressed the picture to his chest while avoiding to look at anyone. “Thank you.”

“Would you like to know more about her?”

The freckled boy looked up and could just nod. This was to good to be true. Did he really deserve this? To know about his mother? He looked at Shanks who just smiled and nodded.

“Yes.”

“Hmmm, where do I begin?” Spencer leaned back into his chair and smiled at the boy. “Rouge owned a little store and sold fruits and flowers. Her favourite was obviously the hibiscus. She always wore one. She was kind and caring, but boy, she could kick some ass too! There was one time when a thief stole something from an older lady and was running towards her. Rouge took one of her brooms and used it like a staff and one hit K.O.ed that guy. I remember we were watching this and were just about to help her when she did that. Hahaha, fuck, were we flabbergasted!”

Ace couldn’t believe it. His Mum had been able to fight! And she used some kind of pole like him! It might have been just a coincidence this one time, but it made him smile that he apparently had something in common with her.

“Rouge also loved to look out at sea. She once told me that she loved the glistening of the waves in the sun and the breeze playing with her hair. Her favourite place had been up on the cliff near her house.”

“Dahaha. Just like your spot here Ace!” Shanks leaned over the table and ruffled the boys hair again, which only made him smile brighter. The redhead was right, that was just like him too! He felt so close to her all of a sudden. Tears started to slowly gather in his eyes, but he refused to let them roll down his cheeks.

“I’m not a religious man, but I’m sure your mother is watching over you from where she is now. I’m sure she loves you so much and would be so proud of her son!”

The first tears ran down the boys face and Spencer whipped them away gently.

“It’s so sad that she can’t be here with you in person, but she will always be with you.” He place his right hand over Aces’ heart and smiled at him. “She will always be in your heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I have a thing for letting a chapter end quit emotional... ^^’  
> In case you don’t know, Spencer is a canon character and one of Rogers crew. We see him like... three or four times times and he never says a word. I think we got his name in the newest volume? (I will probably have to go back and edit this chapter when we get his canon colors which should be animated at some point next year...)  
> Edit: I wasn’t to far off with his hair color xD it’s just a red-ish darker brown instead of a light brown, which isn’t to far of considering he could have literally gotten any color.


	5. King of the Coast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace and Sabo witness something horrible and Ace is scared to loose people dear to him. Ace needs a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for the kudos!  
> I did expect to get less comments for the last chapter because it was... different and a bit self-indulgent. And still absolutely flabbergasted at how many kudos and comments and bookmarks and subscriptions this story got!
> 
> I’m not going to get into detail about injuries in this chapter, but I mention blood and the possibility of someone dying. So be warned?

Shanks watched as the coast of Goa came nearer and he could make out the firs windmills on the hills surrounding Foosha. It was nice to be back, but it was also going to be the last time. He and his man were yearning for new waters. For adventures beyond the calm and peaceful sea the was the East Blue. He wanted to go back to the Grand Line! His crew was ready for it, at least for the Paradise. The New World was different,it they could take all the time they wanted to reach the second half of the Grand Line after all. He, theoretically, knew how to reach Laugh Tale and he would love to go there and see why his captain had named it that, but on the other hand he wasn’t aiming to become the second Pirate King.

Or maybe they could take a few trips to the other Blues before fully entering the Grand Line, too. Letting his crew visit their home before jumping into their biggest adventure.

But no matter what they ended up doing they would have cross over Rivers Mountain next. He hadn’t seen Crocus since the Roger Pirates each went their separate ways. Since after their captains execution.

The Red Force anchored in the small harbour and the captain was about to leave the ship after giving his final orders for this voyage, when he noticed that something was off. There was no one there to great them. Usually at least a hand full of people were there to welcome them back. At least Luffy would be always there to bounce around them. Now, after he had eating a devil fruit, quite literally so.

“Something is wrong...” Benn stepped next to him, his rifle in hand and cigarette in the corner of his mouth.

“Yeah” Shanks closed his eyes and searched for the voices he was so familiar with after coming here regularly for over a year. He hadn’t had to use his observation Haki in a while, but it still came as easy to him as the last time he had trained with Rayleigh. Their first mate had made sure to teach them well, even though training had hurt sometimes.

It didn’t took him long to find what he was looking for and he frowned. All the villagers were gathered near Makinos bar. And there were some other people. Maybe the bandits they had encountered the last time they were here? That wasn’t good!

“Something is wrong. Men, take arms, but hide them. There is trouble brewing. We are going on land.” They weren’t heroes, they were pirates, but they wouldn’t stand by if one of their friend got hurt!

***

Ace sat at his favourite spot, above the cliff, looking out to sea when Sabo found him. The slightly older boy looked up to him for a second before his gaze wandered back to the glistening waves. Looking, but not actually seeing.

“Shanks should be back now. Wanna go visit him?”

“No.” Because this was the last time the pirates would come back to Foosha. Going now would lead to a parting Ace wasn’t ready for yet. He knew that this would come eventually and he wouldn’t try to make Shanks stay any longer, but he also didn’t want to bid farewell to him so soon. The pirate captain showed him a different side of life. A side Ace had always thought he didn’t deserve. Even now he sometimes kept thinking that he was a monster, someone no one could ever love. But Shanks had shown him the opposite and kept reminding him that he was loved. That people care deeply for him, even though some people were really bad at showing it to him.

Dadan had got a bit better at it after the young man had had a stern talk with her, but it was all a bit awkward.

Sabo sat down and elbowed him.

“What?!”

The blond boy looked out on to the water too, avoiding the glare from Ace’ dark eyes. “I’m gonna miss them too...”

The freckled boy blushed slightly before snapping at his friend: “Who says I’m gonna miss the idiot captain and his crew?!”

Sabo frowned, ignoring what had been said to him, and pointed out to sea. “What’s that?”

Ace blinked once, annoyed at his best friend, before he turned his attention to where he was pointing at.

“A dinghy...”

A faint scream made both boys jump up and focus on what was going on on the small rowing boat. They could make out a big figure and a small figure.

“Is that...”

“LUFFY?!”

The big figure kicked the child over board and Ace was about to jump in to help, before Sabo held him back. “Don’t be stupid. It’s to high up. You will only get crushed by the stones beneath.”

He frowned and pressed his lips to a thin line, but knew his friend was right. They couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t do anything to help the younger boy that had wormed his way into Ace’ heart in the last couple of months. 

The boys watched in horror as a dark shadow broke through the calm surface of the water and opened its mouth wide. They both screamed when the king of the coast chomped down and swallowed the bigger figure together with half of his boat. They could hear Luffy faint but panicked cries as the sea monster was approaching him. Both getting ghostly pale and fell to their knees when it’s huge jaws snapped back close.

“Nooooo!!!”

“Luffy!!!”

They could still hear the little boys cries. The monster hadn’t eaten him? What had happened?

They could see an other bigger figure in the water now, holding on to the child. A figure with bright red hair. A figure whose left side looked weirdly empty. He seemed to glare at the king of the coast who suddenly stiffened and sank back into the waves.

“Shanks!!”

Ace had gotten even paler when he realised what was off about the man who had been like an older brother or weird uncle to him. “His arm... Sabo... his arm... it’s gone...”

The blond boy tore his eyes away from the bloody scene in front of them and looked to his friend. He was shacking and his eyes were blown wide, just like his own must be.

“We have to get help! Ace... we need to tell Benn!”

“Yes! You are right!” The black haired boy jumped to his feet and took of into the direction of Foosha Village. “Sabo, hurry!”

The boys didn’t notice an other small boat approaching the two people in the water and two men pulling their injured captain and the crying child into it, before rowing back to the harbour as fast as they could.

***

Ace ran as fast as he could, his friend close behind him. They had to get help and fast! Shanks had lost his arm! He must be bleeding so much! He could... no! He wouldn’t think of that! Shanks would survive! He had to! Shanks was strong! He had to! Please! Please, Shanks don’t die!

He couldn’t loose him! Not like this! Not forever! Please, Shanks don’t die!

His foot got caught in a root and he crushed into the bushes in front of him. He could feel something warm and wet dripping down from his right temple, but he didn’t care. It didn’t matter that he was bleeding, all that mattered was that they would get to the village fast and alarm Benn. He was their doctor after all, he could help Shanks!

“Ace!”

“I’m ok, it’s just a scratch.” He got back on his feet and sprinted down to the village. “Getting help for Shanks is more important!”

***

The way down to Foosha felt like an eternity and all Ace could think about was that Shanks might die if they weren’t able to get him help soon enough. And that Luffy would drown. That two people he cared about would just vanish.

And they way was so long! Could they really make it?

It had really been to good to be true. Of course something would happen. His life had never been so happy before, not even before his Gramps had told him about his biological father. But now he was so close to loosing almost everything he really cared about!

Maybe this would never have happened if he had just stayed up in the mountain and in Grey Terminal. He was a demon child, so wasn’t it natural that he would bring bad luck to the people around him?

No... Shanks wouldn’t want him to think like that!

He bit his lower lip, fighting back the tears that threatened to flow over. Shanks please be safe! We are almost there! Just a little bit longer and you will get help! Please don’t die!

They were already really close to the harbour, having left the pastures and windmills behind them. They rounded a corner... and almost ran over a pale looking Makino who was holding a limp child in her arms.

“Luffy!”

The young woman smiled down at him, but it looked forced and vanished as soon as she noticed the state the two boys were in.

“Ace, Sabo... What...”

“What’s with Luffy? Is he hurt? Is he...is he...” _dead?!_

“Luffy is fine, he just cried himself to sleep. Shanks is...”

“We know...”

“Where is he? Is he getting help? Or...” _was it to late?!_

“They brought him to the ship...” And that was all Ace had to hear before racing the rest of the way to the harbour, shortly followed by his best friend. “Boys wait! Come back! I don’t want to see...”

They had found him already! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU! Whoever or whatever you are. Thank you!

They had found Shanks and he had gotten help! He would make it right? Shanks would survive, right?!

Ace needed to see him! To see his smile and hear his laugh!

Please Shanks! You can’t do this to your crew! You can’t just die on them!

You can’t do this to me...?

The freckled boy ran up the plank to the ship, but didn’t make it far beyond that before someone lifted him off of his feet and held him back.

“You can’t go in right now, Ace! Something happened to...”

“I know!” The child struggled in the strong but gentle grip holding him. “Let me go Roux!”

“Sorry kiddo, but you really shouldn’t see...”

“We already did, Yasopp!” Sabo had arrived and looked up at the shocked man around him. “We were up on the cliff and we saw what happened...”

Ace kept struggling and managed to get out of the pirates grip after he got slightly distracted by the other boy. He dashed to the door leading into the ship, the very door he had sneaked in all those months ago, and ran right into someone’s legs.

“Benn! What’s with Shanks?! Is he...”

The first mate placed a hand on the child’s head and smiled down at him sadly. “So you really saw. Don’t worry, he is gonna make it. He is currently sleeping, but he will be fine.”

“No, he won’t! That thing took his arm!”

Benn kneeled down in front of the boy and put his hands on his shoulders. “Ace, look at me.” The child did so reluctantly and the pirate frowned slightly at the smudged blood on his temple. But that wasn’t important right now. It could wait a bit. “Yes, he did. It will be hard for a while, but he will manage. Shanks is a stubborn idiot, you know that. And, Ace, he is strong! He would do everything for the people he cares about and if that means sacrificing an arm or a leg, then so be it. We are pirates, we are always prepared to get seriously injured. Shanks will live and that’s all that matters.”

Ace looked down on his feet, his hands gripping the hem of his shirt tightly. He was so relieved! Shanks would survive! He wouldn’t loose him! No one would! He sniffled.

“Do you wanna see him?”

The boy looked up with tears eyes and nodded. “Can I really?”

“If you promise to to be quiet, then there is nothing that speaks against it. You too, Sabo.”

***

Shanks felt weird. Everything was foggy and he was reminded of the few times he had actually managed to be piss drunk.

It was dark around him. Was it night? Wait... no... his eyes were closed. Whoops...

Fuck. Was he still drunk? 

He was so tired.

But it didn’t really feel like being drunk? More like... high?

Drugs?

But he didn’t do drugs! He rarely even took... painkillers...

Wait...

He groaned slightly. He was missing something...

What...?

He remembered sharp teeth and a little boy clinging to him. Blood in the water around them...

Oh... that really happened huh... well _fuck_...

He heard a quite sniffle and let his head roll to the other side, eyes only partially open and slightly unfocused.

Two small figures. There were two little ones. One curled up on its side and drooling in their sleep. One hugging their knees, slightly shaking. Two mugs next to them...

“Hiii... kidddoo...”

The unexpected voice startled Ace and he looked up to see Shanks looking at him through half lidded eyes. He rubbed his eyes and sniffled some more.

“Com...’ere...” The pirate moved his arm sluggishly and patted the mattress next to him.

“But you are hurt!”

“Nuuhuu...’oesn’... ‘urt.” He patted the space next to him again. “Com ‘ere... Ace...”

The child stood up reluctantly and climbed on the bed next to the injured man, who clumsily pulled him down and hugged him close to his chest. Holding him as tight as he could while gently rubbing his back.

“‘S is ok... ‘am... alive...” Shanks was so tired, but he couldn’t fall back asleep now. Not before he had convinced Ace that he was going to be alright. He could feel the child curl into his side, shacking. Hot tears were dripping on his naked chest. “‘am ‘ere... rest...”

Five minutes later Benn returned to find his captain fast asleep again with a child cuddled up to his good side, also peacefully sleeping. He sighed and smiled at them fondly before rearranging the blankets around them. He sat back down on the chair on the left side of the bed where he had spent the last hours keeping watch over his patient before nature had called.

***

_ Two weeks later _

Shanks had recovered well, but his wound hadn’t healed fully yet. Maybe he was rushing things, but he just couldn’t sit still any longer. He wanted to go back to sea! The ocean was calling his name.

After he had met Ace, he had thought he would give his beloved strawhat to him, but in the end it was Luffy who felt the most fitting to wear it, even though he was still so young. Captain Roger would have liked him too.

And he was sure Luffy was worth loosing his him for. He would be great when his time comes. It was a bet on the future he was sure he wouldn’t loose.

They had said their final goodbye. Everyone had known they would set sail today, but Ace didn’t come. The pirate was sad about not being able to see him one last time, but he had expected it. Even though Ace had opened up over the last months, the child still hated getting emotional in front of others, and he would get emotional seeing him off.

Shanks stood at the rear of the ship, waving to the the people standing on the shore, when he spotted a small, black haired figure run as close to the ship as possible, before stopping and waving with both arms.

“Shanks! Let’s meet again!” _I’m going to miss you, but I will be fine._

The pirate grinned brightly. “Let’s meet again on the Grand Line! Ace! Take care! Remember we all love you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last chapter for this story, but there will be an epilogue, which will probably be shorter.
> 
> AND there will be a sequel!
> 
> Thank you all again for liking this little story of mine, I would have never thought so many people should do!


	6. Meeting again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ace goes to meet Shanks. His crew isn’t as excited as he is. The Redhead Pirates are greatly amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me longer again, sorry! Real Life is getting pretty stressful and I can’t focus for long at the moment.
> 
> Thank you all again so much for commenting and the kudos and subscriptions and all! I would have never thought this would get so popular! You all are amazing!

Ace made his way up the snowy mountain, his crew following close behind him. He was excited. So excited, that his devil fruit powers went high wire, which made the snowstorm they had seen from afar stop.

He had been giddy since Skull had found out where Shanks had taken base at the moment. He would meet him again! Finally! He couldn’t wait!

Deuce and most of his crew were less excited for some reason. But it was Deuce. Deuce worried to much sometimes.

The young man quickened his steps and the yelps of his crew made his grin even brighter.

“Ace! Stop it! This is crazy!” The first mate turned to their information broker when he was ignored by their captain. “Why did you tell him where he could find an Emperor?! We might be strong, _HE_ might be a monster himself, but going up against one of them is suicide!”

“I’m not sure if that is what he is planning to do, Master Deu. Or why would he bring a bottle of our best sake with him?” Wallace helped up Banshee who had slipped in the muddy snow left behind by Ace.

Cornelia pulled her coat closer around her, the snow might be gone, but the wind was still strong and freezing around them. “You don’t think he is planning to join Shanks and work under him? I can’t imagine him doing something like that, especially not without talking with us about it beforehand.”

Deuce tore at his hair and groaned. “No, Ace would never do that. But I swear some day he will get us killed with his stunts!”

The young pirate captain didn’t pay to much attention to what his crew was discussing. He was looking around, searching for a place where Shanks and the others could be hiding. Wasn’t there a cave around here? They had seen something like that when they anchored their ship.

Weird that he hadn’t seen any of the Redhead Pirates so far, had no one noticed them yet? That couldn’t be! At least Benn or Yasopp would have. Shanks himself too, if he wasn’t to drunk. 

Were they hiding from them? Was Shanks just waiting for him in the warmth?

Or had Skull been wrong? No, he had never been wrong before! Skulls information were the best and always correct.

There! There was a movement!

“Who goes there?” A man with a rifle and dreadlocks stepped out of the shadow of a big bolder, making the Spade pirates jump and their captain grin.

“Portgas D. Ace, called Fire Fist.” It felt wrong to be so formal with an old friend, but Ace knew he had to follow certain rules around other pirates. Even though he ignored them most of the time. The code wasn’t held up as high as it used to be. The times had changed after all. But he knew that the old rules mattered to Shanks, so the young man tried to follow them. “I’m here for Redhead Shanks. I came to fulfil an old promise.”

The sniper did his best to keep a neutral face, even though he wanted to grin and the fact that he knew his captain was waiting a few meters away, in the shelter of a big cave, and doing exactly that didn’t make it any easier.

“A promise you say?” He readied his weapon and pointed it at the young man standing in front of him. Damn the kid had grown so much! And he didn’t even flinch at having a rifle pointed at him. Still as ballsy as when they had last seen him. 

Ace’ crew on the other hand seemed to be less calm, especially after he had raise his weapon.

A young man grabbed Ace’ shoulder and whispered something into his ear, loud enough for everyone to hear. “This is madness! I don’t know what promise you are talking about, but this is dangerous! Let’s go back and hope they won’t come after us!”

The older pirate lowered his gun and broke out into booming laughter. Of course the kid hadn’t told his crew about his past with them! They must be terrified of meeting an Emperor of the Sea. They were just Rookies after all. It was absolutely hilarious!

Deuce and the rest of the crew stared at the sniper, not knowing how to react. That guy was laughing! Laughing like crazy! What the fuck was going on?! Was this good? Or were they already surrounded by the enemy and about to get killed?!

“Boss! Fire Fist Ace and the Spade pirates are here to meet you!”

“Let them through.”

Yasopp stepped to the side to let Ace and his crew pass. He could see some of them gulp or slightly pale, but everyone followed their captain, even if it was into a lion’s den, which they thought it was. Oh, Shanks would have a blast!

“Portgas D. Ace, the infamous Super Rookie, did you come to take my head?”

The genuinely shocked gasp from the young captain made Shanks grin widen, before he stood up and clapped his hand on Ace’ shoulder.

“Dahahaha. I’m just messing with you kiddo, I know you aren’t here for that. But I guess I can’t call you that anymore now, huh? Dahaha, you are almost as big as me now.” He put is arm around the teens shoulder and turned to his own crew. “A long awaited visitor is finally here! Let’s party!”

The older captain led the younger one to a seat next to a fire and sat down with him.

“You haven’t changed at all, Shanks. So I guess you still like this the best?” Ace smirked and offered him a bottle of sake from the West Blue.

“Dahaha! Thanks!” He opened the bottle with his teeth and took a swig. “Ah! That’s the good stuff! Much appreciated!” Shanks ruffled the young mans hair and looked up to the laters crew. “You seem to have gathered a nice and loyal crew, but they seem a bit... stiff?”

Ace looked at them himself and frowned. “What’s wrong guys? Don’t you want to join the party?

Deuce and the rest stared at them, mouths almost hitting the floor and eyes jumping back and forth between their captain and the Emperor of the Sea, who had just ruffled the young mans hair.

“Ace...”

“What the...

“... actual _fuck_?!”

The freckled teens frown deepened and he absentmindedly petted Kotatsu who had curled himself up next to him. “What do you guys mean?”

“Ace... that’s _Redhead Shanks_!”

He blinked in confusion and scratched his nose. “Yeah... and?”

At this point the first of Shanks crew, who had known Ace since he was a child, started to snicker, while Monstar jumped on his shoulder.

“He is an _emperor_!”

“And...?” The monkey started to play with the strings attached to his cowboy hat, while the older crew erupted into laughter.

“Ace...” The young man turned to Benn. “Is it possible that you haven’t told your crew that you and our captain are something like old friends?”

“Oh...!” The young pirate grinned sheepishly and rubbed his neck. “Oops! Yeah guys, I know Shanks and most of his crew since I was a kid.”

The Spade pirates just stared at him in shock for a moment before groaning in unisono which soon turned into laughter and the asks for booze.

***

“Hey, Ace?” The freckled teen looked up at his old friend, mouth stuffed with food and a chicken leg in one hand. “How are Luffy and Sabo doing? I guess Anchor is still a bit to young, but I’m surprised that I haven’t heard anything about Top hat.”

Ace gulped down his food and his expression turned somber. “Sabo is dead.” He gripped his upper arm, right where his tattoo was. “He died around a year after you left. Gramps had left Luffy with Dadan too and the three of us had become brothers. Then... something happened which made Sabo set out to sea early. He was shot by a Celestial Dragon...”

Shanks could almost feel the sadness radiating from the young man, even thought it had been years. They had become brothers, that only made it worse. He threw is arm around him and pulled him into a bit of an awkward hug.

“I’m so sorry.” Great, now you made him sad! This was supposed to be a fun time for them... and you made him sad! The emperor would have liked to kick his own ass for that.

“It’s ok. I still miss him, but he died while he was free.” Ace laughed awkwardly and rubbed his face. “Can you imagine that idiot was the son of some noble man from High Town? He thought we would hate him when he told us that he had lied. But how could we? How could I? Me, the son of the devil...”

Oh no... “Ace! You aren’t...”

A faint smile appeared one the younger mans face. “I know. It doesn’t matter who my father was. Not anymore... you made sure I know that. And Luffy helped a lot too.”

Shanks smiled fondly, for a moment lost in the memories of his time in Foosha. “How is he? Luffy?”

A huge grin appeared on Ace’ face, something the older man had never seen on him before. Lot like this. Not as bright. Not as genuine. It looked great on him. Especially after the pure sadness he had displayed just now.

“That Little idiot! He is probably causing a hell of a lot of trouble for everyone! Maybe he got eaten by an alligator again!”

“Dahaha! He got eaten by an _alligator_?”

Ace groaned but smiled. “Lost count at around 30 times. He is such a reckless idiot! Always made me worried!”

Shanks smile grew bigger and he place his hand on the young mans head. “You love him, huh?”

A light blush appeared on the freckled face, but the grin only brightened. “He is my little brother, of course I love him dearly! Even though he is an idiot!”

“Dahahaha! So he hasn’t changed at all, huh?”

Ace snickered. “Not in the sli...”

The young man tobbled over without a warning, his head coming to a rest in Shanks lap.

“ _ACE_!? WHAT?!”

The Redhead pirates turned silent and stared at the young captain, while his own crew only glanced at him for a second before sighing and going back to eating.

Deuce had observed the interaction between Ace and Shanks and wondered what kind of past they shared that they were so comfortable around each other. Fucking hell, the Emperor ruffled his hair and hugged him?! And Ace didn’t mind it at all!

And then Ace had fallen asleep all of a sudden and the other captain was panicking. A panicking Emperor of the Sea... that was something he had never expected to see in his life. Ever!

“Don’t worry, he is just asleep.”

Benn turned to the blue haired man and raised an eyebrow. “Asleep? Does he have narcolepsy or something similar?”

Deuce nodded and scratched his neck. “Yeah. But he only falls asleep while either eating or partying, which is very weird. He is fine otherwise.”

Shanks looked down at the sleeping teen resting his head on him and petted his head gently. He was glad he was just asleep, for a moment he had feared the worst. Ace looked so peaceful, so young, not like a feared pirate.

Ace seemed happy. There were still shadows around him, but he was happy and smiling!

***

A lone figure looked out to the ocean on an white island. The wind played with his coat and threatened to blow his hat away.

Dragon must be returning...

Storm clouds reflected in the dark blue eyes while blond strands of hair were tussled around his face.

_Portgas D. Ace_... why did this name sound familiar to him?

This name, it tickled some of his memories, his lost memories. It reminded him of the one time he had seen Dragon goof of and laugh. Back then he had thought his reaction had been because this behaviour, which had been displayed in secret, was so unusual for the boss of the Revolutionary Army.

But maybe it was something else?

“Sabo!” A young woman ran up to him, holding her head in place with one hand. “Dragon is back and is calling for you!”

The young man sighed and shook his head in resignation. He had long given up on getting his memories back, he really shouldn’t think to much about the name of an uprising pirate.

“I’m coming!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have noticed, this is going to be the last chapter of this story, but there will be more set in this AU! I created a series for that, so, if you are interested in what’s gonna happen next, feel free to subscribe to it.  
> It will probably take a bit for me to write the next part, because of Real Life, but I will do my best!
> 
> Thank you all again for reading! And I hope you all have a nice day/night, whatever it is where you are!

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this was a ride. I laughed at some parts and now I have to strong need to give Ace a big hug. Originally I had planned for it to be a oneshot and to end here, but while writing it I had some more ideas for it, so this will be continued! (Not sure when though, but it WILL!)


End file.
